


Persuasion, With Advantage

by unrealkinkster (criticalkink)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF
Genre: Community: criticalkink, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 08:20:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11940117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/criticalkink/pseuds/unrealkinkster
Summary: Liam/Matt, post-ep-13, talking Vax/Gilmore. And by talking I mean using their characters as an opportunity to shamelessly flirt before getting involved in sexytimes.





	Persuasion, With Advantage

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from the "Unprompted Kinky Writing" post [over on the kmeme](http://criticalkink.dreamwidth.org/1777.html?thread=249585#cmt249585). Thanks to the kmeme mods for letting me use a pseud on their account here and understanding that some of us gotta take baby steps toward being open about RPF.

Liam waits until after the rest of the group have scattered and Matt’s packing up his dice to ask, “What exactly were you planning on happening between Vax and Gilmore?”

Matt looks up from sweeping the polyhedrals into their bag. “Hmmm? Oh... well. It would have depended on what Vax was okay with. You seemed pretty chill about the whole thing.” His lips quirk into a smile. “How far would _you_ have gone?”

“That depends on what Gilmore would have offered,” Liam says.

Matt stands up, and there’s really not much to pick in height between them, but Liam feels like Matt’s looming over him. “ _That_ depends on how seriously Vax would have taken it.”

There are still other people in the studio—Ashley’s laughing at something Laura just said—but Liam can’t really hear them. He’s focused on Matt’s piercing blue gaze that seems to be boring deeply into him, and on the way Matt’s tongue darts out to wet his lips.

“Vax would...” He has to swallow; his throat is dry. “Vax didn’t spend the afternoon with Gilmore for nothing.”

Matt cocks an eyebrow. “Oh? It wasn’t just a friendly stroll around the city to catch up on the local news? Good to know.”

“Gilmore—” Liam starts.

“Are you staying here all night?” Sam interrupts.

“Liam just wants to know whether Gilmore can make Vax a certain magical item,” Matt says smoothly.

Sam snickers. “With the right incentive, I think Gilmore would make Vax anything.”

“That’s the gist of it,” Matt says with a sly smile, and Liam’s stomach does a backflip. “I do have to look up the rules for item crafting, though. Liam, do you want to stick around and make sure I’m doing this the way you want it?”

The sneaky, _sneaky_ bastard. “Sure,” Liam says, snagging his PHB just so it looks like he’s paying attention to their cover story—and so he can hold it in front of himself. Matt’s been throwing flirty looks and winks his way all session, but now that it seems to be Matt-and-Liam instead of Gilmore-and-Vax, he’s not sure what to make of the way that his body is reacting. Matt picks up his DMG, a pencil, and a piece of scratch paper.

They make their way to the sofa, waving as the others leave one and two at a time. Before very long they’re alone in the room. Matt is drumming his pencil against the cover of his DMG. Liam just watches the way his fingers move, flicking the pencil again and again.

Matt breaks the silence between them. “How far would _you_ have gone?” he asks again, and this time Liam knows for sure that Matt means _him_ and not Vax.

Liam chooses his words with care. “It’s clear Gilmore has a special interest in Vax. It would hardly be fair to take advantage of that just to bend him to helping out the party. I don’t think he’d be fooled if Vax weren’t reasonably serious.” He realizes he’s still clutching his PHB and sets it aside, trying to pretend that when he tugs down the hem of his brown t-shirt it’s just a casual gesture. “And I don’t think we’d be welcome back at Gilmore’s Glorious Goods if Vax turned around and brushed him off after giving every indication that he was... that he wanted to explore that special interest.”

“I see.” Matt stops drumming his pencil on his book. “So Vax was sincere about having Gilmore visit any time... day or night?”

“Yes.” Liam looks down to where Matt’s now twirling the pencil between his fingers instead. “And if you say ‘good to know’, Mercer, I swear I’m going to kill you.”

Matt laughs. “Well, it is. It’s always good for a DM to know what they might be able to exploit about their players’ characters.”

Liam feels inexplicably wounded. “Is that what this is, a chance to find something to use against me—Vax?”

“ _No_ ,” Matt says, and his voice shifts, and he’s not _quite_ Gilmore because they’re sitting on the couch and not up at the table, there’s no DM screen between them, but there’s a low, insinuating tone to his voice all the same. “It’s a chance to find out just how much of himself Vax would have offered to Gilmore.”

This is, on some level, profoundly fucked-up; they are not their characters. This is, on some level, the opposite of a good idea. This is, on some level, something that could fuck their friendship up forever if either of them misreads the situation.

On this level, the one where Liam’s sitting barely an arm’s length from Matt on the couch where they do their Q&As, Matt can see that Liam’s considering his response very carefully. He can’t stop twirling the pencil between his fingers, waiting for Liam to tell him that he’s being fucking ridiculous.

Instead, Liam reaches out and plucks the pencil from his hand, throwing it fairly accurately in the direction of the tables. “Vax thinks Gilmore drives some hard bargains, but he’s noticed a crack in Gilmore’s own armor, something that _he_ could exploit if that was what he wanted to do.”

“Go on,” Matt says.

Liam clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s not. He’s too curious to see what Gilmore’s intentions are toward him to even think of using it against him.”

Matt lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “You should probably know that Gilmore’s interest in Vax goes beyond just being friendly.”

Liam chuckles. “Yeah... I was getting that impression.”

The gap between them is small. Small enough that an observer, if one were there, would be hard put to say which of them leans in first.

(Spoiler: it’s both of them. They mirror each other, in fact, each lifting a hand to the other’s face, palm curving a little to cup the jaw. They even close their eyes at the same moment, the breath-apart moment when it’s too late to turn back.

Spoiler: neither of them want to turn back.)

Matt can feel Liam’s stubble under his palm and pricking at his lower lip as his mouth meets Liam’s. It’s a familiar-but-not feeling; he’s more used to it from stroking his own cheek, looking in the mirror to gauge whether he can get away with another day without shaving.

Liam’s mouth opens under his, tongue pushing between Matt’s lips. Matt meets it with his own, and even that simple act sends a pulse of wanting through his body. He’s spent some time thinking about how this might all turn out, but the thing about life, as in games, is that not everything goes according to plan; some things are always down to chance, or luck, or someone else’s intentions.

Liam feels the way that Matt relaxes into the kiss and realizes that Matt’s been utterly tense waiting for him to react. He strokes his thumb over Matt’s cheek, tilts his head a little, and deepens the kiss, making a soft sound of affirmation to let Matt know he’s on board with this. Matt tenses again for a millisecond and then his hand slips to the back of Liam’s head, tangling into his hair as he kisses Liam back with a new degree of desire. Liam returns the favor with interest; Matt really does have lovely hair and it is awfully convenient for holding him in place for deeper kisses.

Matt ends up on his back, Liam’s body covering his. He can feel Liam’s arousal pressed flush against his own. Good to know that he wasn’t just imagining Liam trying to hide it behind his PHB. Liam’s lying between his legs; Matt tucks his ankles behind Liam’s knees and wraps his arms around Liam’s neck.

“Would Gilmore have been a top or a bottom?” Liam says conversationally, mouthing at the side of Matt’s throat.

Matt considers this. “I think he could go either way,” he says.

“So could Vax.”

Matt slides one hand down to squeeze Liam’s ass. Liam retaliates by biting the side of Matt’s neck. Matt turns his head and catches Liam’s mouth with his again, slow and warm and dizzying.

“How do you want to do this?” Liam asks when the kiss ends, smiling down at Matt.

Matt answers it with a wicked smile of his own, squeezing Liam’s ass again. “I had something in mind.” He eases Liam’s t-shirt up, long fingers stroking Liam’s lower back, occasionally dipping under the waistband of Liam’s jeans. “You’ll have to get up off me if you want to know what.”

“Do I have to roll an Insight check?”

Matt nips at his lower lip. “Smartass.”

Liam sits back on his heels to let Matt up. “We’re all smartasses.”

“You are,” Matt agrees, sitting up and slinging one leg across Liam’s to land straddling his lap, yanking Liam’s t-shirt up and off with a second move just as economically graceful. His body presses Liam’s into the couch; Liam puts his arms around Matt’s neck and seeks out Matt’s mouth again, thinking hazily that he could happily do this all night.

But Matt isn’t done with him yet.

Liam manages to get his hands up under Matt’s own t-shirt and has it worked most of the way off before Matt makes a disgruntled noise and leans back enough to shuck it off and drop it on the floor, where it lands on his discarded DMG. As soon as he does Liam grabs onto him fiercely, hauling him as close as possible so they’re skin to skin, and it’s enough to make Matt gasp softly in appreciation. Liam’s chest is mostly smooth flat planes and he has just enough of a belly to make Matt feel okay about the amount of food that he shoved in his face during their bathroom break. It’s okay for the others to snack nigh-constantly, but not for him; the DM chewing into his mic would probably lose them viewers.

“I didn’t know you’d be _this_ into it,” he says to Liam, who’s now chaining kisses over Matt’s clavicle.

Liam lifts his head. “Do you even have any concept of your own appeal? Shit, I sometimes think even Laura and Travis would invite you home. They probably had a Mercer clause somewhere in their wedding vows.” Just to punctuate his words, he grinds up against Matt, denim sliding against denim, the thick material doing damn near nothing to conceal either’s state of arousal.

Matt catches Liam’s wrists and pins them down, rubbing against him to increase the delicious friction. Liam makes a low sound in the back of his throat and nuzzles into the side of Matt’s neck, lips and teeth catching Matt’s skin, probably leaving a mark. Matt doesn’t care.

When he backs off of Liam, Liam glares at him, but it’s only for a second until Matt drops to his knees in front of Liam, hands on Liam’s knees, spreading his thighs. It’s easy for Liam to get the point, and his hands go to his own belt buckle, working it open and then raising his ass to get his jeans and boxers down.

Matt generously helps out by yanking Liam’s pants down to his knees and then, before Liam can get any further disentangled, diving in tongue-first to drag a wet line up the underside of Liam’s cock, the length of which presses against his cheek as he does so. Liam lets out an “Uh!” of surprise and bucks, and Matt leans into him, forearms on Liam’s thighs to hold him down as he goes in for another long lick before teasing at Liam’s crown with the tip of his tongue. His hair falls down around his face, but doesn’t veil the way that his soft pink tongue keeps lapping at the blood-flushed dark head of Liam’s cock.

“Jesus Christ,” Liam says, hands clenching at the soft material of the couch.

Matt laughs, breathy over Liam’s saliva-slick skin. “Still up for this?”

In response Liam grabs a handful of Matt’s hair and pushes the tip of his cock against Matt’s lips, and Matt’s mouth opens to take him in.

Liam has to let go of Matt’s hair when Matt’s mouth closes over him, because if he doesn’t dig his nails into the couch and _cling_ then he’s going to lose it immediately.

Matt’s tongue works over him as if Matt’s savoring a particularly sweet ice cream cone: long swirling licks around his crown, spiraling deeper and deeper before flicking back up to lap at his tip. Liam leans back and spreads his legs wider, and Matt tucks his arms under Liam’s thighs, holding him in place as he licks and sucks. Liam can hardly keep his eyes focused. Matt’s tongue is good for more than reeling off character actions and reactions.

“Oh my fucking God,” Liam breathes, looking down at the top of Matt’s head. Matt glances up at him and gives him a sly smile around his mouthful before lowering his head to take Liam deep, deep, deep in, one long slow practiced movement until Liam’s cockhead nudges the back of Matt’s throat. He feels Matt’s throat contract as Matt swallows against him and lets out a loud groan, eyes closing as Matt’s tongue caresses the underside of his cock.

When Matt lifts up to tongue at the head of Liam’s cock he notices that Liam’s got his eyes closed. “Watch me,” he says, voice a little rough. “Eyes open.”

Liam’s hand twitches, comes up off the couch, reaches for Matt’s head, and then drops back to the couch. Matt gives him another sly smile and pulls right off to tease with tiny little licks at the very tip of Liam’s cock, which is taut and dark and leaking pre-come.

Looking up at Liam through the veil of his eyelashes, Matt can see Liam struggling with how to react to this overt tease. Finally his hand comes back up again, seizing the nape of Matt’s neck, twisting into his hair, and Matt lets out a moan of pleasure as Liam forces his mouth back down. He feels like he’s going to just about come from the rough treatment. It’s a pleasure to surrender control, to be controlled. Liam’s hard, solid length is a delicious mouthful and while Matt knows he will never quite be able to explain this he’s not particularly moved to.

Liam can’t keep from thrusting up into Matt’s lovely mouth, looking down as directed to watch the push of his cock through those enticing lips, the way Matt’s cheeks hollow as he sucks, and the way his throat works when he swallows. His fingers tighten in Matt’s hair and Matt fucking _whimpers_ around him. Liam grabs Matt’s wrist with his free hand, bearing down on it hard, and Matt’s body jerks in response.

He wants to say _what the fuck is this, why is this happening_ , but all that comes out is a strangled, “Fuck, Matt!”

Matt uncurls his arm from around Liam’s thigh and works it up under his own chin to where he can tease at Liam’s balls, which are drawn up tight. Liam curses again at the feeling, especially when Matt squeezes a little, and rides up even harder into Matt’s mouth.

It would probably be polite to let Matt know he’s gonna come soon, but Liam can’t make words. All he can do is tug at Matt’s hair. Matt makes a negatory sound and Liam just lets go, shooting hard down Matt’s throat, all his awareness condensed down to the pure hot pleasure as Matt sucks him dry.

Liam slumps back against the back of the couch, panting and spent. Matt backs off of him and stands up, wiping his mouth casually with the back of his hand before sitting next to Liam, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Liam yanks him into a savage, harder kiss, tasting himself on Matt’s tongue, feeling Matt’s answering moan rather than hearing it.

It’s a fairly simple matter to get Matt’s pants off, unsurprisingly; all he has to do is begin working Matt’s belt open and Matt’s back on his feet, slipping the leather free of the buckle and shrugging his jeans down off over his slim hips, kicking them free onto the floor. Liam is also not surprised to see that Matt isn’t wearing anything underneath his jeans.

Matt seems unsure where to go after that; Liam solves the problem for him by pulling him down onto Liam’s lap, one arm around Matt’s waist to hold him in place, the other slipping between their bodies and closing readily, easily, around Matt’s cock. He’d thought it might be weird, but apparently reciprocating after getting an amazing blowjob isn’t as socially awkward a situation as he’d expected.

Matt leans into Liam’s body and hand and lips, letting Liam’s mouth claim his in another long, scorching kiss. He rocks against Liam’s hand, letting Liam build him up with long, slow strokes. After the hectic pleasure of getting Liam off it’s quiet, good—almost _too_ slow.

“Come on,” he mumbles against Liam’s mouth, and Liam gives Matt a sly smile of his own and continues the slow strokes. He builds up the pace and drops back; builds up the pace and drops back. Matt drops his forehead to Liam’s shoulder, feeling the flex and pull of Liam’s muscles as he works him.

“Fuck, just...”

“You did me your way, let me do you mine.”

Matt bucks into Liam’s hand, gasping for breath, and Liam’s fingers still at the base of his cock, tightening ruthlessly until Matt manages a breathless, “Please!”

“Please what?”

“Let me come.” He lifts his head from Liam’s shoulder to say it, eye to eye with Liam, and Liam realizes that maybe he’s not in complete control over Matt after all. “Or are you scared of getting messy?”

Liam forgoes his grip on Matt’s waist to grab his hair last time and bring him in for another hot, sharp—and yes, messy—kiss as he squeezes Matt’s cock hard and jerks him fast, drawing Matt’s orgasm out of him unexpectedly quickly, in a burst of wet heat that stripes over both their stomachs. Matt collapses against him, breathing rapidly, letting out a half-laugh.

“Wow. Fuck.”

“Yeah. Fuck.” Liam lets him go, wiping his hand across the small curve of Matt’s belly and putting both arms around Matt’s waist. Matt leans his forehead against Liam’s. “Where did that come from?”

Matt gives him a catlike smile. “Never ask the DM that.”

Liam laughs. It’s good enough. It’ll have to be. He doesn’t think he’s going to get more of an answer out of Matt than that—but there might be other things he’ll get out of Matt in the future.

He’s looking forward to finding out.


End file.
